Tunde Bakare
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has restated his resolve to continue his frontal war against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption in order to sustain and surpass his impressive one year scorecard as the nation’s number one graft fighter.
He disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at a Media Conference to mark his one year in office.
Olukoyede who spoke through the Director, Public Affairs, Commander of the EFCC, CE Wilson Uwujaren disclosed that the last one year has been action-packed, record-breaking and result-loaded.
“Fighting corruption is not an easy task but you can agree with us that we have done well in the past one year of Olukoyede. In his one year as EFCC Chairman, beginning from October 18, 2023 to October 18, 2024, the Commission has charged four former governors, namely: Yahaya Adoza Bello (Kogi), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Willie Obiano (Anambra) and Darius Dickson Ishaku, (Taraba) to court for alleged corruption.
Yahaya Bello is charged in two different courts, one at the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, before Justice Emeka Nwite on 19- count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80, 246,470, 089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty Six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Eight Nine Naira, Eighty Eight Kobo). A different charge of Yahaya Bello alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu is also before Justice Maryanne Anenih on 16-count charges bordering on criminal breach of trust to the tune of N110.4billion.
“Ex-governor Ishaku, former governor of Taraba State and former permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bello Yero, are facing prosecution before Justice S. C Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja on a 15-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds in the state to the tune of N27, 000,000,000.00 (Twenty Seven Billion Naira).
“Ex-governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, the former governor of Kwara State alongside Ademola Banu, former Commissioner of Finance in the state are facing prosecution on a 12-count charge, bordering on money laundering and mismanagement of public funds to the tune of N10billion. On Wednesday, January 24, 2024 the EFCC arraigned Willie Obiano, a former Anambra State governor before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. He was arraigned on nine counts bordering on money laundering, diversion of funds, stealing and corruption to the tune of N4 billion.”
Among former ministers investigated and dragged to court are two former ministers of power: Saleh Mamman and Olu Agunloye. The third is former minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika. Mamman, Minister of Power between 2019 to 2021 is being prosecuted before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja on 12-count charges bordering on conspiracy to commit money laundering to the tune of N33,804,830,503.73 (Thirty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Three Naira, Seventy-Three Kobo). They allegedly diverted funds being a loan granted to Nigeria by China’s Exim bank meant for the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. Agunloye, Minister of Power during President Obasanjo’s government is being prosecuted on seven-count charges, bordering on official corruption and fraudulent award of Mambilla Power Project contract to the tune of $6billion (Six Billion US Dollars) to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd, while Sirika, a former Minister of Aviation is standing trial before two different judges – Justice S.B. Belgore of the FCT High Court, Garki, and Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the FCT High Court, Maitama. Before Justice Belgore, Sirika is being prosecuted alongside his brother, Ahmad Sirika and two companies, Enginos Nigeria Limited and Samahah Integrated Investment Limited on 10-counts bordering on an alleged N5.8 billion fraud. Before Justice Oriji, he is facing six counts alongside Fatima Sirika, Jalal Hamma and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited for an alleged N2.8 billion fraud.
In the area of convictions, the EFCC in Olukoyede’s one year secured 3455 convictions across all categories of financial crimes and corruption. In monetary assets, recoveries in Naira hit N 248,750,049,365.52 (Two Hundred and Forty-Eight Billion, Seven Hundred and Fifty Million, Forty-Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Naira, Fifty-Two Kobo).
In foreign currencies, recoveries of the Commission in the one year of Olukoyede’s leadership are: $105,423,190.39 (One Hundred and Five Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety Dollars, Thirty-Nine Cents); £ 53,133.64 (Fifty-Three Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty-Three Pounds, Sixty-Four Pence; €172,547.10 (One Hundred and Seventy-Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Forty-Seven Euros, Ten Cents); T1,300.00 (One Thousand, Three Hundred Indian Rupees); CAD $ 3,400.00 (Three Thousand, Four Hundred Canadian Dollars); ¥74,859:00 (Seventy-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Chinese Yuan); AUS $ 740:00 (Seven Hundred and Forty Australian Dollars); 170:00 UAE DIRHAM (One Hundred and Seventy United Arab Emirates Dirham); 73,000:00 KOREAN WON (Seventy-Three Thousand Korean Won); CFA7,821,375:00 (Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy-Five West African CFA) and R50:00 (Fifty South Africa Rands.
The EFCC boss constituted a Special Task Force against Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy.
The task force operates in all the Commission’s 14 Zonal directorates and the headquarters for the enforcement of laws against currency mutilation and dollarization of the economy. The task force has succeeded in changing the behavioural approach of Nigerians in handling the Naira. Today, Naira abuse in social events has almost become a thing of the past with more than 35 convictions secured in this regard. The convicts cut across different classes of the society, with Idris Okuneye (a.k.a Bobrisky) and Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, a Nollywood actress who bagged six months imprisonment topping the chart of high- profile convicts in this regard. Another offender, Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu (a.k.a Cubana Chief Priest) had his charges compounded and was fined.
Apart from the protection of the national currency from abuse, the Special Task Force ensures the protection of the economy from leakages, foreign exchange distortions and exposure to instability and disruptions. It has further put paid to business entities, schools and individuals in the country demanding payments in dollars.
The Commission also successfully saw to the return of some of the recovered assets. On September 6, 2024, the EFCC boss handed over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) the sum of $180,300 (One Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Three Hundred Dollars) and 53 vehicles, being assets recovered for Canadian victims of Nigerian fraudsters. One Hundred and Sixty-four Thousand US Dollars ($164,000) of the recovered cash assets was for a victim, identified as Elena Bogomas, while $16,300 (Sixteen Thousand, Three Hundred US Dollar) belonged to a victim, known as Sandra Butler. The recovered 53 vehicles were stolen over a period of time in Canada, freighted to Nigeria and distributed to multiple locations in Nigeria by criminal elements. Representing the Canadian authorities and the RCMP in the handover ceremony were Robert Aboumitri, First Secretary, Deputy High Commission of Canada and Nasser Salihou, Liaison Officer and Programme Manager, RCMP.
On September 20, 2024, Olukoyede handed over €5,100 (Five Thousand, One Hundred Euros) proceeds of crime to the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Juan Ignacio Sell, being the sum recovered from a Nigerian romance fraudster for Heinz Burchard Einhaus Uchtmann, a Spanish victim by the EFCC in collaboration with the Spanish Police.
On Wednesday, April 24, 2024 the EFCC played host to a special delegation from the Enugu State government, led by the governor, Dr. Peter Mbah. The event, a memorable one in many respects, was the handing over of 14 properties recovered by the EFCC to the Enugu State government by Olukoyede. The properties which were initially forfeited to the federal government are now in the custody of government and people of Enugu State. Speaking at the brief handover ceremony, Olukoyede stated that the event spoke of the mutually beneficial relationship existing between the federal government and states.
The Commission has upped the ante in local and international collaborations in the past one year. While the Commission has forged collaborations with all relevant government agencies and local civil society organisations, at the regional level, Olukoyede is the serving President of the Network of Anti- Corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, which places him in the leadership of ECOWAS region’s anti-corruption agencies’ fight against money laundering and other financial crimes. At the recent 6th Annual General Assembly of NACIWA held in August, 2024 in Abuja, Olukoyede led other heads of anti-corruption institutions in the region to implement the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption and the strengthening of collaboration among the institutions. The AGM awakened the region’s anti-corruption agencies to the robust anti-graft initiatives in the sub- region.
At the global level, the EFCC has charted new frontiers in international collaborations and synergy. A feat in international collaborations was the record setting July 14, 2024 official visit of the FBI Director, Christopher Wray to the Commission. The first of such an event in history, the FBI Director flew into the country to personally broker a new strategic alliance between the Bureau and EFCC towards tackling the waves of emerging and old crimes that are of mutual interest to Nigeria and the United States.
Olukoyede right from the start, set his eyes on prioritization of fraud prevention. This saw the Commission reintroduce the Inter-faith Manual for Christian and Islamic faiths, which was launched in a national event at the Yar Ádua Centre, Abuja on January 31, 2023, themed: “Youth, Religion and the Fight against Corruption.” The manual provides anti-corruption, economic and financial crimes doctrinal guide for clergies in both faiths for inculcation into the faithful. Another aspect of fraud prevention mechanism which the Commission has brought into the mix within the one year period is the Fraud Risk Assessment Prevention for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), which was conceived to prevent occurrence of fraud in MDAs. The Fraud Risk Assessment Prevention is a template on corruption and fraud prevention in MDAs which have been rendered hugely vulnerable to resource haemorrhage and endless conduits for public funds theft with attendant negative impacts on the nation’s development.
A new department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC) was established. The department is saddled with the responsibility of examining the systemic challenges that allow corruption to fester in the country and implements the Commission’s Corruption Prevention Strategy.
Just recently, the Commission established Cybercrime Centre and Rapid Response Centre. The Centre is for accelerated information transmission on internet-enabled financial crimes from the public and action from the Commission. It is provided with both local and international telephone numbers with which the Commission can be reached on a 24-hours basis on matters relating to cybercrime in Nigeria and from across the globe. The Rapid Response Centre code named, (Project E247CR2C), is designed to process real time information on cybercrime and escalate them for immediate mitigating action.
The Commission under Olukoyede consummated a partnership agreement with Nigeria’s foremost Fintech group, Flutterwave to establish a Cybercrime Research Centre at the new EFCC Academy in Abuja. The Centre will offer tech savvy youths the opportunity to positively deploy their talents in the aid of the fight against corruption and uplift of the Nigerian economy through research, innovation and other undertakings.
The initiative takes strong roots in Olukoyede’s desire to entrench financial integrity in Nigeria’s cyberspace as much as a resolve to redirect the youth onto the path of ethical values.
On October 22, 2024, the Commission held a National Cybercrime Summit with the theme: “Alternatives to Cybercrime, Optimizing Cyber Skills for National Development.” It provided an avenue to brainstorm and advance workable proposals for youths’ engagement in legitimate pursuits.
Further in the line of prevention, the EFCC Radio was commissioned in May 2024. With it, the Commission under Olukoyede became the first to own and operate a radio station, dedicated to promoting the fight against corruption. The EFCC Radio 97.3FM was commissioned by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Manga.
In the direction of institutional reforms, besides the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC), Olukoyede in the past one year established a new Department of Security while the former Department of Internal Affairs, (DIA) was renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity to reflect the new focus on zero-tolerance of corruption among personnel of the Commission. Also all the Zonal Command were upgraded to Directorates and Directors appointed to head them. Among the Directors are officers with backgrounds in law and other fields, a clear departure from the past in which such positions were reserved exclusively for officers in the investigation department.
At the moment, three new directorates are set to emerge in Ekiti, Katsina and Anambra, bringing the Commission’s zonal directorates to a total of 17.
In line with its enforcement and prevention mandate, the Commission under Olukoyede in the past one year has set up a Visa and Immigration Fraud Unit in all its zonal commands and the headquarters to tackle visa and immigration fraud in the country. Setting up the unit became compelling as a result of the stream of fraud taking place on immigration matters in the country and the need to protect Nigerians from the antics of immigration fraudsters. And as part of efforts to bridge the gap between the Commission and members of the public with grievances, a new Public Complaints Desk was established in all Zonal Directorates and the Headquarters to receive complaints from the public and processes for immediate action by the Commission. The Desks are manned by specially trained officers and have hotlines through which they can be reached.
In a bid to boost the intellectual strength of its workforce and promote distance learning, the EFCC has launched an electronic learning management studio at the EFCC Academy in Karu, Abuja. The studio was Commissioned as part of activities marking the 6th Annual General Assembly of the Network of National Anti-corruption Institutions of West Africa, NACIWA. The EFCC’s boss also used the opportunity of the media conference to disclose that the Commission submitted its Annual Report to the National Assembly before September 30, 2024 as required by law.
